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Deputies: Man shot family, lit fireworks, shot himself

In this photo provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, flames destroy a mansion owned by former tennis star James Blake Wednesday May 7, 2014, in a gated community in Tampa, Fla. Officials have confirmed that three bodies have been found in the home. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Spokeswoman Cristal Bermudez Nunez says neighbors have told detectives that Blake hasn't lived in the house for a while and was renting it out. (AP Photo/Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Associated Press

Published: Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 9, 2014 at 2:55 p.m.

A Florida man shot his wife and two teenage children in the head, then scattered gasoline and fireworks around the mansion they rented before setting the home ablaze and killing himself, deputies said Friday.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Col. Donna Lusczynski said at a news conference Friday that Darrin Campbell had purchased fireworks, gas cans and gasoline in the days before the family was killed.

Campbell shot his wife, Kimberly, 19-year-old son Colin Campbell and teenage daughter Megan each in the head with a.40-caliber handgun he bought last year before setting the house on fire and shooting himself in the head.

"This is certainly disturbing," Lusczynski said.

Investigators are still working to determine what drove Darrin Campbell to kill his family.

Lusczynski said the sheriff's office had not been investigating Campbell before the killings and did not know of any other agencies that may have been investigating him. Campbell had no criminal record before his death.

Investigators are looking into the family's finances and going through records found in the home, Lusczynski said.

The Campbells had been renting the 6,000-square-foot home from James Blake, a former professional tennis player. The million-dollar home was located in Avila, a gated community known for its resident sports stars and CEOs. Located on one of Tampa's most exclusive streets, in one of its most secure, tony neighborhoods, the five-bedroom, five-bath home had a pool and spa, and was graced by tall palm trees.

Campbell had been an executive for several high-profile businesses, including a stint at PODS, the mobile storage company. He was most recently working at a records management firm and volunteering as treasurer at his children's private school. His wife, Kimberly, was a stay-at-home mom, according to her father, Gordon Lambie.

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EARLIER: A man, his wife and their two teenage children were shot before the million-dollar home they were renting burned down in what investigators called arson, a fire perhaps exacerbated by fireworks and gasoline, authorities said Thursday.

Autopsies were still being completed to determine how they died, but investigators have said they are looking into the possibility of a murder-suicide. Authorities recovered a gun at the home registered to Darrin Campbell and he bought an “exceedingly large amount” of fireworks and gas cans days before the fire, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Col. Donna Lusczynski said.

Authorities still have not positively identified the bodies, but the family has not been accounted for and a relative said they were inside the home when it burned.

As flames shot through the roof Wednesday morning, neighbors reported explosions, presumably hearing fireworks go off inside. Authorities have not indicated who may have started the fire or why.

Campbell bought $650 of fireworks on Sunday and authorities said fireworks were found throughout the five-bedroom home. Still, it wasn't clear what role the fireworks might have played, though Lusczynski said they could've been used to ignite the fire or keep it going.

Campbell had been an executive for several high-profile businesses. He was currently working at a records management firm and volunteering as treasurer at his children's private school. His wife, Kimberly, was a stay-at-home mom, according to her father, Gordon Lambie.

The family moved to Tampa more than a decade ago. They sold their home in 2012 for $750,000 and signed a two-year lease for the 6,000 square-foot home owned by former tennis pro James Blake. He bought the home in the Avila community in 2005 for $1.5 million, according to property records.

Avila is known for its mansions, heavy security, country club and golf course. Many well-known athletes have called the community home over the years.

Lambie said the family wanted to move closer to the children's school, Carrollwood Day School.

Nineteen-year-old Colin Campbell was a talented baseball player who planned to graduate high school next month. His teenage sister, Megan, was a ninth-grader who made an honor roll and took dance lessons.

“I've lost my entire family,” Lambie said from his Michigan home. “It's very tough right now because I'm 1,500 miles away.”

Campbell bought six packages of firecrackers and about the same number of fireworks designed to shoot into the air, said William Weimer, vice president of Ohio-based Phantom fireworks. He described them as backyard fireworks someone might set off on the Fourth of July.

Neighbors described hearing the fireworks.

“Geez. What is that popping noise?” a man said on a 911 call.

A former neighbor, George Connley, said Kimberly Campbell was “sophisticated and classy.”

“We know nothing of any problems,” Connley said. “The kids were outstanding children. This is very difficult to put our arms around.”

A man found dead with his wife and two teenage children inside the million-dollar home they rented had bought fireworks days before the house was destroyed in an inferno, and a neighbor told a 911 dispatcher he heard firecrackers as the blaze burned.

Detectives have said they are not looking for suspects in the family's deaths but stopped short of calling it a murder-suicide. Fireworks were found in parts of the house, authorities said. However, it's not known exactly how the family died, who set the fire or what role the fireworks played in the blaze.

The home, which is owned by former tennis star James Blake, was engulfed in flames when firefighters responded Wednesday morning. Neighbors told police they heard explosions coming from it.

Blake was renting the house to the Campbell family and was not there at the time. Darrin Campbell had been an executive for several high-profile companies, including a senior vice president at PODS, a company that provides mobile, temporary shipping and storage containers.

Kimberly Campbell's father, Gordon Lambie, described the family as close-knit and successful. Darrin Campbell had moved to Tampa more than 10 years ago to take a job with a glass container manufacturer, Lambie said.

Darrin Campbell was volunteering at his children's private school, Carrollwood Day School, as the treasurer, an unpaid position. Kimberly Campbell was a stay-at-home mother.

Nineteen-year-old Colin Campbell was a talented baseball player who planned on graduating high school next month. His sister, 15-year-old Megan, took dance lessons.

"I've lost my entire family," Lambie said from his Michigan home. "It's very tough right now because I'm 1,500 miles away."

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Col. Donna Lusczynski described the fire as unusual and said there were "various fireworks" throughout the home. Two victims suffered from upper-body trauma, but Lusczynski didn't indicate which ones or provide other details. She also said no weapons had been found.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said autopsies were being performed Thursday.

"We are not looking for any suspects, not at this point in the investigation," she said.

Darrin Campbell purchased the fireworks on Sunday, William Weimer, vice president of Phantom fireworks, said Thursday by telephone from the company's Ohio headquarters.

Campbell bought six packages of small firecrackers and about that many packs of aerial fireworks designed to shoot into the air, said Weimer, who described them as backyard fireworks someone would shoot off on the Fourth of July.

He said the fireworks could have started a fire, but it would have spread slowly. The amount of powder inside the fireworks was smaller than the size of an aspirin, he said.

Neighbors described hearing the fireworks go off as the house burned.

"Geez. What is that popping noise?" a male neighbor said on a 911 call.

Another 911 caller, a security manager for the gated community, told dispatchers the fire was in the house's garage.

Darrin and Kimberly met in Lansing, Michigan, when they both worked as legislative aides in the state legislature. Kimberly Campbell had graduated from Central Michigan University and Darrin Campbell had an MBA from the University of Michigan, Lambie said.

They had lived in San Antonio, Texas, where Darrin Campbell was an executive with Pearl Brewing Company before they moved to the Tampa area around 2001 so he could take a job with Anchor Glass Container Corp.

They sold their previous home but wanted to live in a place close to their children's school, so they signed a two-year lease for Blake's home, which was close enough for the teens to walk to school, Lambie said.

Police said the family had been living there for about two years. Neither deputies nor the Department of Children and Families had been called to the home, officials said.

A former neighbor, George Connley, said they were a nice family. He said that Kimberly Campbell was "sophisticated and classy."

"We know nothing of any problems," Connley said. "The kids were outstanding children. This is very difficult to put our arms around."

Online, friends of the two teens expressed their grief in photos and tweets. Some students gathered Wednesday evening and released balloons with messages on them as a remembrance.

"Our hearts go out to the family in connection with this tragedy. We have grief counselors on site and we are rallying around our students, faculty, and families," the school said in a statement.

At one time, Darrin Campbell was the senior vice president at PODS, a company that provides mobile, temporary shipping and storage containers. According to his LinkedIn profile, he left PODS in 2007 and was a vice president at IVANS, an insurance company.

IVANS was purchased by another company and Campbell no longer worked there, said Matt Fogt, a spokesman for the new company, Applied Systems.

The fire at the more-than-6,000-square-foot home north of downtown Tampa was reported about 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Blake bought the home in the Avila subdivision in 2005 for $1.5 million, according to Hillsborough County property records.

Avila is an exclusive enclave known for its mansions and heavy security. Many well-known athletes call the community home and over the years, various football, baseball and tennis players have bought homes in the subdivision, which has a country club and golf course.

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Schneider reported from Orlando.

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Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush

EARLIER: A spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says detectives are not looking for any suspects in the deaths of four people found in a burning home in Tampa, but she stopped short of calling the case a murder-suicide.

Debbie Carter described the ongoing investigation in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.

Officials say the early Wednesday fire inside the home owned by former tennis star James Blake in Tampa's exclusive Avila neighborhood was intentionally set.

Blake was renting the home to a family. Voter registration records identified them as Darrin Campbell and his wife, Kimberly, but investigators say they won't know the victims' identities until preliminary autopsies are completed. The couple had two teenagers.

Officials say the Campbells were unaccounted for Wednesday.

EARLIER: The fire at a Florida mansion belonging to a former tennis star was intentionally set and four bodies were found in the charred remains, police said Wednesday.

The victims were described as two adults and two teenagers, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Col. Donna Lusczynski said. She described the fire as unusual and said there were "various fireworks" throughout the Tampa Bay-area home.

Two of the victims appeared to have suffered from upper-body trauma, but Lusczynski didn't indicate which ones or give any more details. She also said no weapons had been found and that murder-suicide was a possibility.

The teens' bodies were found in their respective bedrooms and the two adults were found in one bedroom, she said.

Former tennis standout James Blake had been renting the home to a family for about the past two years, and was not there at the time of the fire, Lusczynski said. She identified the renters as the Campbell family; voter registration records identified them as Darrin Campbell and his wife, Kimberly.

A former neighbor, George Connley, said Darrin Campbell was the treasurer of Carrollwood Day School, a private school attended by the Campbell's teenage children, Colin and Megan.

The Campbells were unaccounted for Wednesday, but Luscyznski would not say if authorities believed the bodies in the house to be theirs. She said the remains have not been positively identified yet.

At one time, Darrin Campbell was the senior vice president at PODS, a company that provides mobile, temporary shipping and storage containers. According to his LinkedIn profile, he left PODS in 2007 and was a vice president at IVANS, an insurance company.

IVANS was purchased by another company and Campbell no longer worked there, said Matt Fogt, a spokesman for the new company, Applied Systems, who was reached by telephone.

"They were a very nice family, we know nothing of any problems," Connley said. "The kids were outstanding children. This is very difficult to put our arms around."

He said that Kimberly Campbell was "sophisticated and classy."

The fire at the more-than-6,000-square-foot home north of downtown Tampa was reported about 6 a.m. Wednesday. Blake bought the home in the Avila subdivision in 2005 for $1.5 million, according to Hillsborough County property records. It had five bedrooms and five bathrooms. Video of the fire showed it totally engulfed in flames.

Avila is an exclusive enclave known for its mansions and heavy security. Many well-known athletes call the community home and over the years, various football, baseball and tennis players have bought homes in the subdivision, which has a country club and golf course.

Blake, 34, was ranked fourth on the ATP world tour in 2006. He retired last year. He also has the James Blake Foundation, an organization dedicated to cancer research, in memory of his father who died of gastric cancer.

His agent, Carlos Fleming, told The Associated Press that Blake was not in Florida. He declined to comment further.

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